00:00Backlash grows after Zelenskyy strips anti-corruption bodies of independent
00:08Ukraine government is facing growing backlash after President Vladimir Zelenskyy signed a
00:13law limiting the independence of two anti-corruption agencies. The contentious
00:17bill grants control of the National Anti-Corruption Bureau NABU and Specialized Anti-Corruption
00:22Prosecutor's Office SAP to the Prosecutor General, who is appointed by the President.
00:27Thousands demonstrated in Kyu for a second night on Wednesday.
00:31Many brandishing signs criticizing the government.As protesters gathered,
00:35Zelenskyy acknowledged public anger and said he would submit a new bill
00:39to Parliament in response to the criticism. Although he offered no further details about
00:44what it would contain, Kyu's Western allies expressed their displeasure at the law.
00:48A spokesman for European Commission Chief Ursula von der Leyen said she had requested
00:53explanations from the Ukrainian government. Zelenskyy argued provisions needed to be taken
00:57as NABU and SAP were letting criminal proceedings stagnate for years, and insisted they had to be
01:03cleansed from Russian influence. He signed the bill into law late on Tuesday after it received the
01:08backing of 263 MPs out of three to four. Many Ukrainians outside Parliament the Rada disagree
01:14with the decision. Critics say the law will severely undermine the NABU and SAP's authority
01:19and effectiveness. Thousands gathered outside the President's office in Kyu to protest on Tuesday,
01:25with smaller rallies also taking place in Odessa, Dnipro, Lviv, and Sumi.
01:31Despite the continued threat from nightly Russian aerial attacks, on Wednesday evening thousands filled
01:36one of Kyu's main squares, among them young army veterans, there was singing and chanting,
01:41with many of the young protesters holding signs. Denouncing the bill, several waved placards that read
01:47shame, 1241 for the new law sounds like 1984, and Parliament is full of parasites. The activists see
01:54the move as a return to the corruption of a decade ago when Ukraine was ruled by pro-Russian President
01:59Viktor Yanukovych. The gatherings constitute the largest anti-government demonstration since
02:05Moscow launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022. The fight against corruption is seen as closely
02:11tied to Kyu's prospects for integration within them. EU a path that started in 2014, when anti-government
02:18protests ousted Yanukovych in favor of closer TIs with the West. The creation of NABU and SAP was one
02:25of the requirements set by the European Commission and International Monetary Fund more than a decade
02:30ago in order to, move towards a relaxation of visa restrictions between Ukraine and the EU.In 2022,
02:36Kyu was granted the coveted status of EU candidate a significant development that boosted spirits and
02:42strengthened TIs between Ukraine and its European backers. Now, there is concern Zelensky's move may
02:48undermine Kyu's growing proximity to the West, a cause for which many Ukrainians feel their country
02:53continues to pay the price of the Russian onslaught. Corruption lives the future dies, one placard at
02:59the Kyu protest read, Von der Leyen spokesman reiterated that respect for the rule of law and the fight
03:05against corruption were core elements of EU membership, and that as a candidate.Country,
03:10Ukraine was expected to uphold those standards. There cannot be a compromise, he added,
03:15Corruption in Ukraine is endemic, and the country currently ranks 105 out of 180 in Transparency
03:21International's Corruption Perceptions Index. The rating may be low, but it nonetheless marks an
03:27improvement of 39 points since. NABU and SAP were created in 2014. Since then the two bodies have been
03:34involved in far-reaching investigations into the misappropriation of millions of dollars worth
03:39of assets and bribes across various ministries and sectors.In 2023 a joint investigation resulted
03:46in the arrest of the head of Ukraine's Supreme Court, Vsevolodnyaziv, in connection with a $3 million
03:51to, for M. 2.9 million euros bribe. Earlier this month, it also emerged NABU was conducting searches
03:59at the residence of former Defense Minister Alexei Reznikov. Now NABU and SAP will have to operate
04:05under presidential oversight, leading some to wonder whether high-profile figures close to the
04:10government will eschew scrutiny. By curtailing the body's independence the government had destroyed
04:15everything that has been worked on for years. One protester in Kyu told Radio Liberty,
04:20despite a nationwide ban on mass gatherings under martial law, more protests were expected.
04:26In an even greater number of cities across Ukraine on Wednesday evening,
04:30the scandalous new law dealt a critical blow to Ukraine's European integration process.
04:35The Ukrainska Prava website said, while another outlet,
04:38Jerkalo Tizhnyia, warned that Zelenskyy had taken a step towards authoritarianism,
04:43prominent word veteran Masin A.M. told his 54,000 Facebook followers that he had joined the protests.
04:49In Kyu as a duty to the victims of Russia's war, I fought for the nation, for the people in the
04:54democratic system. He added, European allies have also sounded alarm bells. The legislation
05:00hampered Ukraine's way towards the EU, said Germany's foreign minister Johan Waiteful,
05:05and France's European affairs minister Benjamin Haddad urged Kyu to reverse its decision.In a joint
05:11statement on Wednesday, the NABU and SAP said they had been deprived of the guarantees that allowed them
05:16to combat corruption effectively. They also thanked Ukrainians for their principled position,
05:21active support and concern. Wednesday saw the beginning of the third round of talks between
05:26Russia and Ukraine in Istanbul. But the attention of many Ukrainians was firmly on the new bill,
05:33and not just because there was little concrete hope of progress in either Moscow or Kyu,
05:37this is government lawlessness. A Loviev resident called Liza told Radio Liberty,
05:42We don't want to have to fight both Russia and our own government.
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